to not be dreading??

[bloodyfamilies]

the school holidays and aib even more U for not paying a fortune for holiday clubs etc?
6 mums at the school were chatting today about what holiday clubs their children are going to, things ranging from activity days that the local leisure centre do, to the holiday clubs that football teams run.
the leisure centre ones are £36 a day, (10 till 4)
2 local schools run clubs at £40 a day, £35 if booked 4 weeks in advance.( 9 till 4)
when they asked what clubs my kids were going to i said they were going to a 5 day thing at a local church, 9.30 till 12. costing £20 a week.
they were all horrified that i wasnt putting them into structured clubs, and honestly i felt like i had missed a memo that said it was compulsory.

am i being a totally cheap mum?
will the kids explode and think i am a evil mare for not paying for these clubs?

i get that plenty of parents have to use childcare in the holidays but how the hell do parents of more than 1 child manage to afford these holiday clubs?? they are extortinate!

I work for a firm that offers holiday clubs, they are expensive because we have very strict rules about adult child ratios, once we have paid for the staff and facilities we make very little profit.
Personally I love the school holidays and don't send my dd to anything, but I am lucky to only work term time

they would probablly love to go to some of the activities, but its SOO costly.
at over £30 a day, thats £90 per day!!!
the parents that i was talking too just seemed to think it was necessary to do the clubs, to keep them in a routine.

I'm sure your kids will have much more fun with you doing 'normal' things, walking, bike riding, going to the park etc. nothing wrong with holiday clubs but at that price I wouldn't bother unless I was stuck for childcare due to work.

i love the holidays and am in the minority that don't do the holiday clubs etc. i just love the break from the routine. not having to rush to get ready in the morning, bliss. me lazy :)

Most people I know only use holiday camps because they are working and short of childcare.

I usually sign them up for something when they stay with my parents, as my parents are elderly and my DC are very energetic, and it makes it easier for everybody if they have a bit of structured activity, but it would be something like an intensive swimming course, 1 hour/day for a week, costing about £15/child for the week.

So, YANBU, I am sure your DC will have a great holiday with you.

also - those activities sound sooo expensive! I only pay £40 for my DD to go to her dance summer camp for the whole week, and the school summer camp is £10/day.

My DC are doing a few things over the holidays, but certainly not loads. It is incredibly expensive.

Although they are already driving me mad and they only broke up at 3.15pm today.

My dc is doing 2 weeks of a club that is 8.30-5pm @ £20 per day. He did it over the last holidays and loved it. Made so many friends. It's not the most middle class one and am certain there won't be any organic food and they might even watch a kids film for the last hour they are there but I like it - very down to earth, unpretentious and kids just playing together mostly with some activities thrown in to the mix.

I look forward to school holidays and my kids don't do holiday clubs, but then I am not working.
We do try and do special stuff, but doesn't necessarily cost - picnic in the park type things.
We also go and visit people we haven't seen for a while.
I love having them around, they are fun and we finally get around to do the stuff I am always intending to do, like the craft sets they get given and cooking and things like that.
My ds thinks dh is going to build him a tree house this summer, dh had no idea how to begin.....

our school does a nice holiday club, runs for 2 weeks I think about £10 per day. It is run by the local children's centre and is subsidised